How do i know i am not playing against a computer program instead a human being? You would have plenty of time to recreate the game and then make "your move".

Yeah it can happen and you wouldn't know unless you check out your opponent's past games and see if they are consistently good. (Or you have been using a chess programme and you lost....:)  But I don't recommend to fight fire with fire here 'cause you'll never improve your games this way.)

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Realm/8655/ENGLISH/Part5_ENG.htm

(really interesting article about cheating in online chess.)

well computers can beat you.....but not if your good!have you heard of a new programme called rybka??ddid u know that it beat a grandmaster??

Blaaze wrote:

 (Or you have been using a chess programme and you lost....:)  But I don't recommend to fight fire with fire here 'cause you'll never improve your games this way.)

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Not only will you not improve your true rating this way, but you also risk being unceremoniously and permanently banned from this site. ;-)

I don't care if my opponnent cheat.  I don't play for cash, I play for fun. As long as I can have fun to play chess, I'll be happy.

It seems to me that, in most cases, you should be able to differentiate the possible cheaters from the non cheaters by simply looking at their rating. If your opponent has a 1200 rating, 1600, or say 1800, (s)he is not likely one who is a cheater. I'm not suggesting that a 2400 rated player is a cheater. They might sincerely be a very good player. I'm just saying that if a player has a rating that is not close to a chess program rating, I don't think that you have to worry too much about this player being a chess program cheater. I personally don't have any worries or stress about playing these chess cheaters. I'm not a Chess Master, and I don't play other Masters. It is unlikely that I have been taken advantage by very many program cheaters.

If the rating reflects the quality of play, I don't care whether it's a computer or a real human. I normally don't play against very high rated players anyway. But I would be unhappy if a lower rated player used a computer to save him or herself from a bad position. That would be like working hard to exploit your opponent's mistakes and all of a sudden Kasparov subs for him and says "lemme take it from here."

Only a weak-minded person would cheat at chess. It's difficult to defend yourself but just keep playing; you may learn from the program what you could never learn from the nut running it.

I agree with Baesballfan and Blaaze.  I can tell these cats are cheating when the level of a sequence raises.  I know that any level of player can come up with some surprising otb moves.  But the delay of replies and the disapearences are a clue.  But as stated: You are only hurting yourself.

dude i never even thought that people would do that, this means i might be playing super computers

Can somebody tell me what is the PGN I see on the side??  I mean what is it and what does it do????

Sharukin wrote:

MrPouge wrote:

dude i never even thought that people would do that, this means i might be playing super computers

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Unlikely. Super computers are expensive beasts to run and time on them is not generally released to play chess.

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You certainly would not need to run Fritz or Rybka on a super computer to beat most people on this site.

annmaryeasaw wrote: well computers can beat you.....but not if your good!have you heard of a new programme called rybka??ddid u know that it beat a grandmaster??

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 Several programs have beat Grandmasters.

I don't understand where the satisfaction from cheating (especially when there is nothing tangable on the line) comes from.  I think you could probably train a monkey to mimic chess moves, and achive a 2000 rating. If anyone can do it, why waste your time proving that you can do it too?

I'm obsessed with winning (at everything), and can understand why someone would want a higher rating.  But, not being able to win without cheating is a bigger loss than putting up a good fight and learning from my mistakes.

If you do end up facing a cheater, at least you can be satisfied knowing that you gained some valuable playing experience, while some idiot wasted their time slowly surrendering their will to their future computer overlords.

I am all for that too.  But unfortunately, Erik and the staff do not have the money (most likely) to get the technology to do that sort of thing.  Although there should be no criminal liablility.  Banning is an appropriate punishment.

Number-1 easiest tip-off there is: When you are facing a player who is playing like a Master ... Do they brag or belittle you (or your play)? If so, you are probably facing a computer. Players who are really good and know it do not need nor tend to display such unsporting insecurities.

Another means is to analyze the game afterward using your own good program. Here's the thing, don't look for matching of moves because they could be interchanging several programs during a game. Instead, just watch the computers ASSESSMENT of the game. EG +.3 for WT, +.38 for WT, +.44 for WT, etc. If you have a case where the opponent is able to continually and steadily increase their favorable assessment thruout the game, with ever dropping to near Equal ... in other words, you never approach having any drawing chances; well its pretty hard for a human opponent to do that if you did not blunder some major advantage early. (In my experience, It generally takes a Postal Chess Senior Master level of player or higher to be able to deprive an Expert player of the Black pieces of counterplay thruout a game, for instance.) And if you DID blunder, a human may continue to increase their advantage, or they may decide to Trade Down at expense of their numerical advantage, while still maintaining a won game. But a computer will always try to Increase its numerical advantage. At least those I have played against.

Another delightful fact for those who are tempted to cheat using a program ... A titled player should be able to look over that players past games and compare the play with the game at hand ... and detect not only increased strength but stylistic changes as well. And those are a big "Tell".

Of course, there is also the zebron-D program for detecting program usage comparing the factors above, and more, and connecting to all the major Chess playing programs simultaneously. Simply input the players past pgn's; naturally much faster more consistent than human review. And the exceedingly clever heuristic aspects; Well actually I think that is still a secret. So you may ask, Where can you find it? You probably can't since you are not a Chess sysop, nor have a mainframe; but it may find YOU if your play is not on the up and up!    aha !  }8-)

you'd be surprised how many cheaters they catch...

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...and several grandmasters have beaten computers.

Besides, that's not the point. Staff members have their own ways of monitoring games to see who is using programs.